America-s Commitment to Volunteerism and Service
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/15/americas-commitment-volunteerism-and-service?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=071613-topper
The first immigrants to America came seeking freedom, but
they survived -- and, in time, came to thrive -- because of their determination
and because of each other. They valued self-reliance, but in times of strife
they also knew could rely on neighbors, friends, sometimes even strangers to
offer a helping hand.
That neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit is woven into the DNA
of the American spirit. It defines in a very real sense who we are as a people.
It also unites us.
That unity was on vivid display this Monday when President
Obama welcomed the man who launched the modern service movement, President
George H. W. Bush, back to the White House to honor the recipients of the
5,000th Daily Point of Light award. Together, they lauded Kathy Hamilton and
Floyd Hammer of Union, Iowa for stepping up to fight hunger and
improve the lives of children worldwide.
Nearly 10 years ago, Hamilton
and Hammer participated in a volunteer mission to Tanzania to help renovate an
HIV/AIDS hospital there. Startled by the starvation they saw, the couple
started Outreach, Inc., which has engaged thousands of volunteers in packaging
and distributing 230 million free meals to children in more than 15 countries,
including the United States.
Their story is a simple one: Two people decided that they
simply had to do something. Telling that story, day in and day out, is what the
Daily Point of Light Award is all about.
President Bush was the first president in U.S. history to
institute a daily presidential recognition program from the White House,
conferring 1,020 Daily Point of Light Awards between 1990 and 1993. And
President Bush helped launch a nonprofit – Points of Light – that has become
the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteer service.
While he didn't originate the notion of helping our fellow
man, he reasserted it as a national priority and insisted that "there can
be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to
others."
President Obama built on this commitment to service when he
signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009, which will
increase the size of AmeriCorps from 75,000 volunteers to 250,000 by 2017. In
2012, the President created the FEMA Corps program, which established a
FEMA-dedicated unit of AmeriCorps members to work solely on disaster
preparedness, response and recovery efforts -- and he launched the Serve.gov
platform to make it easier for Americans to find and post local volunteer
opportunities.
On Monday, the White House also announced plans to establish
an interagency task force led by the Corporation for National and Community
Service to develop strategies to expand national service to meet national needs
through collaboration with other Federal agencies.
This historic event, then, brought together two Presidents
and families united in their commitment to expand volunteerism and service – an
issue with a long history of strong bipartisan support. While other critical
issues can be attended by sharper debate, that bipartisan support for service
is durable and enduring.
Today, America
faces both challenges and opportunities in forming "a more perfect Union," but that same spirit of selflessness which
has sustained us from our earliest days is as strong as ever.
As Kathy Hamilton and Floyd Hammer show in such a wonderful
and compassionate way, you don't have to be a President to be a leader -- and
you don't have to be a First Lady to make a difference in the life of your
fellowman. All you have to do is open your heart to the need around you, and
then do something about it.
Get started by:
Tweeting about a
point of light in your life, using the hashtag #mypointoflight.
Finding an
opportunity to volunteer in your community at www.serve.gov.
Nominating someone
you know for a Daily Point of Light Award at
www.pointsoflight.org/dailypointoflight.
Valerie Jarrett is a Senior Advisor and Assistant to the
President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. Neil Bush is the
Chairman of Points of Light. Michelle Nunn is the CEO of Points of Light